July 2023

New: Research Community-Building Small Grants Program

The Office of Research’s new Research Community-Building Small Grants Program will provide one-time funds of up to $10k for activities that build engagement and collaboration to support equity and belonging for the UCSF research community. This program will officially launch in August; there will be a simple application process and rapid review twice annually. See future email and ReSearch ReSource announcements for more details.

Mitigation Efforts: Potential UPS Strike

UPS workers' contract expires on August 1, 2023. Negotiations are ongoing, but if unfruitful, UPS workers are likely to strike as of August 1. UPS has approximately 40% market share of global delivery services. In advance of the potential UPS strike, UC Systemwide Procurement (SWP) is proactively endeavoring to prevent disruption through efforts that include working with systemwide suppliers on transitioning to alternate carriers. However, over 1,100 life science suppliers serve UCSF. Therefore, labs can take the following steps to mitigate any disruptions. STARTING JULY 17 To avoid delivery problems with critical inbound goods, any orders/purchases should be routed through alternate available delivery services (FedEx, USPS, DHL, etc.). An external note to the supplier on the order can be added in Bear Buy (see How to Add Notes to Suppliers In Bear Buy). To avoid shipping problems with critical outbound goods, campuses should set up accounts with and use these alternate UC-contracted shipping services:  FedEx – contact Elaine.Heath@fedex.com to set up an account  GLS (formerly Golden State Overnight) - complete this interest form and reference UC contract #2020002351

Robert Till Named OCTA Associate Director

The Office of Clinical Trial Activation is excited to announce that Robert Till will assume the role of associate director, Information Systems, Operation & Strategy. Robert has been with the UCSF OnCore team since 2016. He was instrumental in the enterprise-wide adoption of OnCore, the incorporation of BCH-Oakland into UCSF’s APeX, and most recently the implementation of OnCore Financials. His many contributions have been pivotal to increasing OnCore usage and strengthening our billing compliance program. Please join OCTA in congratulating Robert on his promotion!

Recommendation: Nature Article on Making Your Scientific Data Accessible, Discoverable, and Useful

This recent article in Nature discusses seven tips for effectively sharing your scientific data. The recommendations include creating comprehensive metadata (including a "README" file and codebook), sharing both raw and derived data whenever possible, following community standards, using open file formats, including code used for analysis, and considering accessibility needs.    For local resources on data sharing, check out the UCSF Library’s guide to data management and sharing and overview of the NIH Data Management and Sharing policy.

Profiles Highlights

Christian Billesbølle, PhD Senior Scientist, Pharmaceutical Chemistry Aashish Manglik, MD, PhD and colleagues "Structural basis of odorant recognition by a human odorant receptor," Nature

Carlo Condello, PhD Associate Professor, Weill Institute for Neurosciences Stanley Prusiner, MD and colleagues "Guam ALS-PDC is a distinct double-prion disorder featuring both tau and Aβ prions," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA

Renee Hsia, MD, MSc Professor of Emergency Medicine and colleagues "Patterns in Patient Encounters and Emergency Department Capacity in California, 2011-2021," JAMA Network Open

Events ICYMI: NIH Workshop on Health Disparities Among Sexual and Gender Minority Populations This March 2023 seminar videocast is archived online with downloadable slide presentations. The Great Lab Coat Return July 18-31 UCSF spends over $100,000 a year purchasing laboratory coats. Help us keep the program free and sustainable by returning extra coats that may be accumulating in your spaces. DEI Movie Night: Picture A Scientist July 18 | 4:30-7 p.m., IRM Board Room Watch the untold journey of women in science at this Picture a Scientist screening and hear from remarkable women at UCSF who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Learn from their experiences and be a part of the discussion! CRC Town Hall July 19 | noon - 1 p.m. virtual The town hall will include an overview of the Office of Clinical Trial Activation (OCTA), and presentations on their new Coverage Analysis Determination Form, and the Current Activation Pipeline Dashboard.

Funding Opportunities Call for Proposals: N3C Public Health Answers to Speed Tractable Results (PHASTR) Questions The N3C PHASTR initiative is a funded opportunity for individuals or teams to use N3C data to provide fast actionable analyses on high-impact COVID-19 public health questions. It’s also an opportunity to increase community engagement in using big data for research and machine learning best practices. 2023 UC Noyce Initiative Call for Applications The 2023 request for proposals focuses on the thematic areas of (1) computational health and (2) privacy and security. Deadline: August 15 by 6 p.m.

NIH Updates Policy & Guidance Use of generative artificial intelligence technologies prohibited for use in the NIH peer review process to maintain security and confidentiality. See if you qualify: 2023 NIH Loan Repayment Programs can help counteract the financial pressures of advanced education and training.

Information, Trainings, and Tools Revised Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) Manual Please read: EH&S has revised the IIPP manual. The written program is now available on the EH&S website; content aligns with CalOSHA requirements. Combined PI Approval: OCTA Coverage Analysis and Budget The Office of Clinical Trial Activation (OCTA) is moving forward with a single PI approval of the coverage analysis and study budget. Please review our updated workflow. If you have any questions, please contact clinicaltrials@ucsf.edu.  Last Day to Register for Summer Courses Today is the deadline to register for summer courses. Five will be offered, including designing clinical research, data collection, introduction to “big data,” statistical computing, and programming for health data. New 1-Year Workshop in Clinical Research Advance your skills in clinical research with classes that you can take online and at your own pace. Learn the methods, plan and implement a research project, and analyze and present data. Register by July 21. AAALAC Mid-point Town Halls for Animal Users August 2023 Virtual In preparation for the fall 2024 AAALAC site visit, LARC, IACUP, and EHS are holding mandatory mid-point town halls for animal users virtually via Zoom. Separate communication will be sent to users by email with dates, times, and webinar links for each session. Please contact IACUC@ucsf.edu with any related questions. We look forward to seeing you there.  Register Now: CRC Workshop on Monitoring & Audit Readiness  Join the CTO Training team on August 18 from 9 a.m. – noon for a hands-on advanced training workshop to help CRCs make the most out of study monitoring visits and be prepared in the event of an audit. For more information about the workshop and all courses available for CRCs, visit the CTO website. Biomedical Researchers: Apply for NIH-funded Compass Program Compass is an online training and mentoring program to develop leadership and management skills for early-career biomedical researchers. The cohort launches September 11 and foundational training runs for 10 weeks. There is no cost to participate. Updated IRB Guidance: Adverse Events in Gene Therapy Studies Until now, the IRB has required reporting of all serious adverse events (AEs) in gene therapy studies. The guidance has been refined to specify that AEs in gene therapy studies must only be reported to the IRB if they are (1) related to the research, and (2) serious and/or unexpected.  Updated IRB Guidance: Investigator’s Brochures In response to campus feedback, the IRB has revised the guidance for when and how to submit new Investigator’s Brochures.

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Useful Links

UCSF COVID-19 Resources COVID-Related Research Bakar ImmunoX CoLabs Contracts & Grants Accounting CTSI Environment, Health, and Safety Extramural Funding Opportunities HRPP IACUC Innovation Ventures Library Limited Submission Opportunities MATLAB NIH Updates Office of Clinical Trial Activation Office of Diversity and Outreach Office of Ethics and Compliance Office of Sponsored Research Office of Sustainability Research Advisory Board Resource Allocation Program Research Development Office Research Resource Program